Global Business Strategy: Full Service Travel in Brazil
1.0 Executive Summary
Explore the World LLC desires to create a concierge, high-end travel agency/experience in Brazil. Our new office will be located in a place yet to be determined in Brazil and we are thinking of transportation, accommodations, private guided tours, cultural lessons, and language lessons. Essentially, the business plans to make the experience more than just seeing the sights, but experiencing the culture and lifestyle as a whole. This service can be used by both business and vacation travelers. In addition to direct personal service we will have a website to allow people to survey our offerings as well as a mobile app. Many of our services can be accessed electronically (etiquette videos, language lesson videos, photo galleries, cooking classes). These services would be available for purchase and can be accessed prior to arrival, or in flight, for those that cannot work the experience into their schedule but still want the benefit of the information.
With Brazil cited as one of the fastest growing countries, chosen as the location for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics, and possessing a skilled workforce, the country is a strategic choice in expanding Explore the World LLC globally. Additionally, the projections for global business travel to increase significantly over the next five years coupled with the fact that Brazil is the largest travel market in Latin America indicate strategic timing for Explore the World LLC. Our initial revenue target is $2M with a plan to increase revenues to $10M in the first 5 years.
2.0 Country Factors The decision to expand business to international locations requires careful evaluation of the target country or countries prior to launch. The evaluation should include political, legal, economic, and cultural factors as all of these factors have impacts on performing business in a country. This section outlines the country factors for launching the full service travel business in Brazil.
2.1 Political and Legal As we consider launching the full service travel business, we cannot ignore the fact that the very reason for selecting Brazil; the World Cup and Olympics, has also caused political uproar in the country. Recent media attention surrounding politics in Brazil has centered on the citizen frustration with rising costs and mismanagement of funds slated for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. As a result of these concerns, Brazil’s President has faced increased scrutiny and ratings impacts that first plummeted but have since improved. According to author, Argolis, the ratings for President Dilma Rousseff have rebounded most recently. Argolis attributes this rebound to the slowdown of protests as well as attention shift to Edward Snowden when some of the findings included phone calls and emails from President Rousseff and Brazilian companies. The concern for spying and President Rousseff’s response quickly overshadowed the previous concerns. Within Brazil, Rousseff has had to implement policies and measures to combat corruption.